There are very few moments in life when one can claim they have achieved an amazing feat. And Lee Thompson has done just that. He has taken "the world's first (and so far only) selfie with Jesus", so the 31-year-old claims.

Thompson's cheek-to-cheek grin in what has been described as the 'ultimate selfie', taken from the highest point of Brazil's Christ The Redeemer statue, is evidence of just that.

"[We] managed to convince the Brazil tourist board to allow us to climb to the top and take some seriously vertigo-inducing photographs."

It took about two hours for the Londoner and his colleague to reach the top of the 38-metre tall statue. The men, assisted by two high-wire workmen, crawled in circles up 12 flights of stairs before climbing a rope through a hatch that opened on Jesus' crown.

Despite the claustrophobic climb, Thomson says the view from the top was breathtaking, leaving him in "utter awe".

Thompson is one of very few people to have climbed the iconic statue in Rio de Janeiro.

He dismisses any question of vanity motivating his decision to take a selfie, citing that it was a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" and arguing that selfies are "a powerful medium through which we can share our perspectives.